Apparatus for drafting long staple fibre slivers

ABSTRACT

Fibre is fed to a drafting zone having a series of paired drafting devices, such as fallers, porcupine rolls or toothed rolls, by a pair of supply rollers; and sliver formed by such fibres is drawn from the drafting zone by drawing rolls. A guide screw is operable to move a frame carrying the entire supply and drafting assembly to vary the distance between the final pair of drafting devices and the drawing rolls to accommodate processing of fibre batches having different average staple fibre lengths. The frame has an upper portion carrying the upper element of each drafting pair, which is swingable by operation of a guide screw about a pivot relative to the lower frame element which carries the lower drafting elements and the pair of supply rollers. Such relative movement of the upper and lower drafting elements permits accommodation of fibres of different quantity, bulk or curliness or variation of the degree of draft. The belts driving the supply rolls and drafting elements are tensioned by resiliently-mounted belt tension rollers movable in response to relative adjustment of the upper and lower frame portions.

United States Patent [191 Schmitt et a1.

[ Jan. 7, 1975 APPARATUS FOR DRAFTING LONG STAPLE FIBRE SLIVERS [75] Inventors: Ludwig Schmitt, Manching; Joachim Kipping, lngolstadt, both of Germany [73] Assignee: Schubert & Salzer Maschinenfabrik Aktiengesellschaft, lngolstadt, Germany [221 Filed: Feb. 28, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 337,750

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 141,519, May 10, 1971,

abandoned.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 3,611,507 10/1971 OOtsuki et al. l9/65.A

Primary Examiner- Dorsey Newton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert W. Beach; Ms. R.

M. Van Winkle [57] ABSTRACT Fibre is fed to a drafting zone having a series of paired drafting devices, such as fallers, porcupine rolls or toothed rolls, by a pair of supply rollers; and sliver formed by such fibres is drawn from the drafting zone by drawing rolls. A guide screw is operable to move a frame carrying the entire supply and drafting assembly to vary the distance between the final pair of drafting devices and the drawing rolls to accommodate pro cessing of fibre batches having different average staple fibre lengths. The frame has an upper portion carrying the upper element of each drafting pair, which is swingable by operation of a guide screw about a pivot relative to the lower fr'ame element which carries the lower drafting elements and the pair of supply rollers. Such relative movement of the upper and lower drafting elements permits accommodation of fibres of different quantity, bulk or curliness or variation of the degree of draft. The belts driving the supply rolls and drafting elements are tensioned by resiliently-mounted belt tension rollers movable in response to relative adjustment of the upper and lower frame portions.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures Patented Jan. 7, 1975 FIG.|

APPARATUS FOR DRAFTING LONG STAPLE FIBRE SLIVERS This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 141,579, filed May l0,'l97l, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to apparatus for drafting long staple fibre slivers and more particularly to such apparatus comprising pairs of fallers, toothed rollers or porcupine rollers arranged in the drafting zone for guiding the fibres.

It is known in drafting long staple fibre slivers, more particularly thick slivers, to guide the fibres in the drafting zone by means of fallers, toothed rollers or porcupine rollers. For achieving a trouble-free draft it is, however, necessary to adjust these fibre guiding means to the type of fibres to be processed and the amount of fibres supplied. in the case of gill boxes this is normally carried out by varying the distance of the drafting rollers from the zone in which the fallers are arranged. This distance should generally be as small as possible in order to ensure that the fibres remain under the control of the fallers even in a position close to the drafting rollers. In the case of drafting fibres of aboveaverage length or in the case of high-volume fibre feed, this distance is increased by shifting the bearings of the drafting rollers so that the retaining forces acting on the fibres in the drafting zone is decreased to such an extent that excessive drafting forces and consequent damage to the long fibres is avoided. Furthermore, the supply roller pair can be shifted in relation to the fibreguiding means in the drafting zone. Consequently the distance between the nip line of the supply roller pair and the drafting roller pair can be adapted to the fibre staple. However, owing to this tedious and timeconsuming shifting of the bearings of the drafting rollers the distance between the drafting rollers and the stationarily arranged guide means for delivering the drafted sliver is also changed, something which completely changes the drawoff conditions. The resultant disadvantages are particularly apparent at high machine speeds. Moreover, toothed rollers or porcupine rollers when used as the fibre or sliver'guide means, are quite sensitive to slight changes in the feeding volume and in the type of fibre, in contrast to gill boxes.

One aim of the invention is to provide an apparatus for drafting fibre material in which the guide of fibres in the drafting zone can be matched or adapted to different types of fibre material to be processed and different fibre feed volumes or rates.

The present invention consists in an apparatus adapted for drafting staple fibre slivers. A drafting zone has rollers with pointed projections arranged above and below the plane of the drafting zone for guiding the fibres and means for adjusting the depth of penetration of the projections on the rollers into sliver in the drafting zone. The projections on the rollers can be in the form of teeth or needles. in order to ensure guide of the fibre material in accordance with the crimp and the length of the fibres as well as the degree of draft, means are provided for bringing about different adjustments in the depth of penetration of the teeth or needles of one roller relative to the teeth or needles of the other roller of each roller pair. Independently of this the fibre guide means inthe drafting zone can be arranged for conjoint adjustment in a horizontal direction in relation to the drafting rollers which are stationary. This structure also applies for drafting apparatus with fallers.

Thus, an adaptation of the fibre guidance is achieved to suit larger fibre amounts or longer lengths of fibre without changing the drawing-off conditionsfor the drafted sliver.

Further details of the invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus in accordance with the invention using pairs of toothed rollers for guiding the fibres in the drafting zone parts being broken away.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary end elevation with parts in section from line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing a detail of the invention.

The drafting apparatus comprises the supply rollers 10, 11, the drafting rollers 12, 13, 14, and the fibre guiding means in the drafting zone. The fibre guide means includes pairs of toothed rollers 20, 21; 22, 23; and 24, 25, whose teeth are peripherally interfitted without making any contact. The teeth tips of rollers 20 through 23 are represented by broken line circles concentric with the rollers. The toothed disk portions 241 and 251 of rollers 24 and 25 are partially schematically represented, with parts broken away to show a few of the interfitting teeth. They are driven without any backlash by toothed belts. The driving force of a motor, not shown, is transmitted by a toothed belt 4 to the drafting roller 13 and by a toothed belt 5 to the toothed wheel 50. A belt 52 having teeth on opposite sides, also engages shaft 50 and is tensioned by a jockey roller 521 loaded by a spring 520 and drives the toothed wheel 51 and the lower supply rollerl0. The rollers 20, 22 and 24, the teeth of which penetrate from below into the fibre material, are driven by a toothed belt 53, which engages drive wheels 530, 532, 534 fixed on the shaft of the toothed rollers and runs over an idler roller 536. A jockey roller 538 with a compression spring 537 tensions the toothed belt 53. The opposing counter-rollers 21, 23 and 25 corresponding to the toothed rollers 20, 22 and 24 respectively, are driven by the shaft 51 and a toothed belt 54. The belt engages the toothed drive wheels 531, 533, 535 and is guided by an idler roller 540 and tensioned by a jockey roller 541 with a compression spring 542. The drive wheels 530 through 535 have the same number of teeth so that the toothed rollers 20 through 25 are driven at the same, constant, angular velocity by the drive belts. For ensuring that the drive of the drafting apparatus is not overloaded and thus the apparatus subjected to damage, limit switches E 1, E 2 and E 3 are arranged near the jockey rollers 521, 538, 541; and when the belt tension reaches an excessive value, the limit switches are actuated by the jockey rollers to switch off the apparatus.

The toothed rollers 20, 22, 24 whose teeth penetrate into the fibre material from below, and the lower supply roller 10 arejournalled on a slide or carriage 3 which can be shifted relative to the machine frame 1.

The slide 3 also carries the toothed wheels 50, 51, the toothed belt jockey rollers 521, 538 and the idler roller 536. The bearings for the counterrollers 21, 23 and 25 co-operating with the toothed rollers 20, 22 and 24 and penetrating the fibre material from above, the jockey roller 541, and the idler roller 540 are attached to a frame 2 which can pivot about an shaft 26 fixed in the slide 3 and is constructed as a housing. The bearing for the upper supply roller ll is not connected with the frame 2 and the roller 11 is pressed by means of a con ventional loading device towards the roller 10. The

position of the supply roller 11 is thus not influenced by a tilting movement of the frame 2 about shaft 26. A bearing support arranged in a stationary manner on the machine frame 1 carries the drafting rollers 12, 13 and 14 so that rollers 13 and 14 always maintain a distance a, from the sliver guide part 16, through which the fibre sliver produced passes to a depositing device which is not shown. Such fixed spacing of the drafting rollers and sliver guide ensures trouble-free delivery of the drafted fibre sliver.

The described arrangement of the toothed rollers through makes it possible to shift the rollers jointly in a horizontal direction in order to change the distance between them and the nip line of the drafting rollers 12, 14. It is also possible to adjust the toothed rollers 21, 23, 25 arranged above the plane of the drafting in a vertical direction relative to rollers 20, 22, 24 for changing the depth of penetration of the teeth of the cooperating rollers. The conjoint horizontal shifting of the toothed roller pairs 20, 21; 23; and 24, 25 for enlarging their distance from the drafting rollers 12, 14 occurs in the processing of fibres with a particularly long staple or in the case of large amounts of fibres or thick fiber assemblies, respetively, and brings about a corresponding decrease in the retaining forces of the toothed rollers. For setting the desired distance the slide or carriage 3 is displaced by turning the drive screw by means of a crank (not shown) via skew gear wheels 301, 302. The precise setting of the nippoint distance can be facilitated by a scale 31 arranged on the machine frame 1. As a reference line use can be made of the front edge of the slide 3.

An adaptation of the guide to suit lower fibre amounts orfibre material of lower thickness, respectively, and shorter fibre lengths can be achieved simply by the adjustment of the frame 2, by which the depth of penetration of the teeth of the toothed rollers 21, 23, 25 in relation to the toothed rollers 20, 22, 24 can be set for drafting sliver according to particular characteristics of the sliver. Furthermore, this adjustment facilitates adaptation of the fibre guiding to the degree of draft and the smoothness or curliness or bulk of the fibres. The adjustment of the frame 2 is carried out by moving adjusting nuts 34 along setting screws 32 and raising or lowering the adjacent frame end thereby. The setting screws are attached at one end of the drafting zone by pivots 320 to the slide or carriage 3 and extend through projections on the frame 2. Such a setting screw and pivot is provided on each side of the drafting zone. A further possibility for adjustment is provided by the fact that the frame 2 is attached in a detachable manner by a screw 33 on a frame part 27 and it can be displaced in this frame part in a guide slot 330 vertically. If the frame 2 with the frame part 27 is only adjusted by rotation of the nuts of the screws 32, it swings about the shaft 26. Consequently the teeth tips represented by the broken peripheral line of the toothed discs 241, 251, on the toothed rollers 24, 25 and the teeth tips of the toothed rollers 20, 21 adjacent to the supply rollers 10, ll overlap withdiffering depths of penetration e and d respectively, so that, in a corresponding manner, also the depth of tooth penetration of the center toothed rollers 22, 23 also changes. A deeper penetration of the teeth of the toothed rollers 24, 25 with respect to the toothed roller pairs 20, 21 and 22, 23, and thus a lowering of the frame 2 by unscrewing the nuts of the screws 32 is necessary if the draft is to be'increased while the amount of fibres sup plied is maintained constant. The teeth of the toothed rollers 24, 25 exert a greater retaining force on the fibres owing to the deeper penetration. If, on the other hand, the amount of fibres supplied is increased while the draft remains constant or if fibre material which is difficult to draft, for example curly or bulk fibre material is to be treated, the depths d and e of engagement must be decreased to the same extend in order to provide the freedom of movement necessary for a controlled drafting having regard to the greater number of fibers between the teeth, or to reduce the retaining forces in the drafting zone. The frame 2 is displaced in a vertical direction for this purpose by first swinging it about pivot 26 by means of setting screw 32 and then loosening the nut on screw 33, shown best in FIG. 2, in the guide slot 33, and swinging the frame about pivot 320 until the lower toothed rollers 20, 22, 24 and their counter-rollers 21, 23, 25 have the desired distance between them.

The drive conditions are not influenced by the adjustment of the frame 2 and by the shifting of the slide 3,

since all drive and guide parts of the toothed belts 52,

53 54 are connected with the slide 3 and the frame 2 pivotally mounted on it respectively and are simultaneously moved during the adjustment. The shortening or lengthening on the toothed belt 54, which is due to the adjustment of the frame 2, is compensated for by the spring-loaded jockey roller 541. Such belt tensioning compensation also occurs in the case of a displacement of the slide 3 for the toothed belt 5, whose springloaded jockey roller pressed against the belt is not shown. In the same manner the position of the teeth of the toothed rollers 20 through 25 in relation to each other is not changed by a pivoting of the frame 2 about the shaft 26, since the drafting apparatus is driven by toothed belts and the drive wheels 530 through 535 have the same number of teeth. The teeth of the toothed rollers always are interfitted without making contact and penetrate the gaps between the teeth in the cooperating rollers.

The apparatus in accordance with the invention has been described with reference to the toothed rollers as fibre guiding means. It is, however, obvious that instead of toothed rollers it would be possible to use needle or porcupine rollers or conventionally driven fallers. Furthermore, more or less than three toothed or porcupine rollers pairs could be arranged in the drafting zone.

What we claim is:

1. ln apparatus for drafting long staple fibre slivers and having a drafting zone including a plurality of pairs of cooperating upper and lower rollers in the drafting zone having needlelike projections projecting from the peripheral surface thereof for guiding the fibres, the projections of one roller of each cooperating pair interfitting between the projections of its cooperating roller and mounting means carrying the upper rollers of the pairs, the improvement comprising means for moving the mounting means to adjust the upper rollers elevationally relative to the lower rollers including first pivot means located at a first side of the plurality of rollers pairs, first adjustable means located at a second side of the plurality of roller pairs for swinging the mounting means about said first pivot means, such second side being opposite such first side, second pivot means located at such second side of the plurality of rollers and second adjustable means included in said first pivot lers in a selected adjusted relationship to the lower rollers and thereby establishing a predetermined depth of penetration of the roller projections according to the sliver being processed.

@7 3? I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent K I 8 -18 278 Dated Januarv 7 1975 Inventor(s) Ludwig Schmitt and Joachim Kipping I It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Title page, Section 63, Serial No. 141,519 should be --Serial No. 14l,579--.

Column 4, line 62, change "rollers" to "roller-m Signed and sealed this 11th day of March 1975.

(SEAL) Attest:

- c. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C MASON Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer and Trademarks 

1. In apparatus for drafting long staple fibre slivers and having a drafting zone including a plurality of pairs of cooperating upper and lower rollers in the drafting zone having needlelike projections projecting from the peripheral surface thereof for guiding the fibres, the projections of one roller of each cooperating pair interfitting between the projections of its cooperating roller and mounting means carrying the upper rollers of the pairs, the improvement comprising means for moving the mounting means to adjust the upper rollers elevationally relative to the lower rollers including first pivot means located at a first side of the plurality of rollers pairs, first adjustable means located at a second side of the plurality of roller pairs for swinging the mounting means about said first pivot means, such second side being opposite such first side, second pivot means located at such second side of the pluraLity of rollers and second adjustable means included in said first pivot means and operable independently of said first adjustable means located at such first side of the plurality of roller pairs for swinging the mounting means about said second pivot means, said first and second adjusting means thereby being operable for setting the upper rollers in a selected adjusted relationship to the lower rollers and thereby establishing a predetermined depth of penetration of the roller projections according to the sliver being processed. 